Outraged by Uighur genocide, Europe picks a fight with China. And loses

A desire for business as normal with Beijing is coming up hard against the ugly reality of Xi's swaggering authoritarianism

Mention the Boxer Rebellion nowadays, and most people in the west would look baffled. Not so the Chinese, who have longer memories.

They have not forgotten the invasion launched in 1900 by the US, Britain, Germany, France and other members of the so-called Eight-Nation Alliance to suppress the anti-foreigner, anti-missionary uprising. Mass atrocities against Chinese people ensued, in the name of upholding civilised" Christian values.